Miyake's fashions and perfumes reflect a sense of humor and make use of multi-lingual puns. A-POC, for example, sounds like the English word "Epoch." When Miyake launched his first perfume, L'eau d'Issey for women in 1992, the name is a homonym for the French word l'Odyssée ("odyssey" in English). A Scent by Issey Miyake, launched in 2009, could be read as "ascent by Issey Miyake." Miyake also maintains a store in Japan called ELLTOB TEP ("pet bottle" spelled backwards) which sells his entire line.

He presented his first fragrance, Calandre, in 1969 . Meant for an active woman, it’s a cypress-heavy perfume that was considered revolutionary for its time. In 1973, he introduced his first men’s fragrance, Paco Rabanne pour homme, which was the first aromatic scent on the market. XS Pour Elle was introduced much later in 1995 as a soft floral, followed by his first unisex fragrance, Paco, in 1996, which was presented in a recyclable metal bottle. Two years later, Paco Energy was created, and a year later, Ultraviolet perfume for women made its debut. The men’s version of Ultraviolet cologne rolled out in 2001. Other noted Paco Rabanne fragrances include Eau De Paco Rabanne Cologne, La Nuit Perfume for Women, Liquid Crystal Perfume, Liquid Metal Cologne, Metal Perfume, Paco Energy Body Lotion, Paco Energy Cologne, Paco Pour Elle, Paco Rabanne Sport, Paco Unisex, and Xs Extreme Girl.